Even now, many local safety services or law enforcement can't communicate with each other in the field.
Connecting to state agencies is next to impossible.
Why?
DARYL ANDERSON:
"Right now we have 1337 radio systems in the state of Ohio for Police, Fire, and EMS."
Daryll Anderson is Director of Ohio's Multi-Agency Radio Communication System - or MARCS - a state of the art digital communication system that allows agencies from multiple jurisdictions to coordinate efforts during floods, severe weather events, or even something like a gas leak or prison break.
Designed and first initiated at the turn of the century, about 700 statewide agencies now use it - but just as many do not, and many of the non-participants are in Northeast Ohio - which is why seeing 100 people at this regional conference had supporters like Cleveland's Heights' Fire Chief Kevin Moore - so excited.
CHIEF KEVIN MOORE:
"We're seeing that our fire departments are less well-staffed, our police departments are less well staffed and we are now relying on mutual aid more than ever before."
Moore is also the former chair of the Cuyahoga County communications committee. His city is one of many locally to embrace the system. But others, including Cuyahoga's most populous towns of Cleveland and Parma - have not.
Daryll Anderson says the initial investment of acquiring the proper radios pays off for users in several ways.
ANDERSON:
"We can save tremendous amounts of taxpayers' dollars, #2, we can maximize ability of a firefighter to talk to a police officer to talk to an EMS person, #3 by definition we're gonna save lives."
Anderson says some cities which may still face equipment upgrades because of federal requirements on frequencies - would do well to incorporate the MARCS system as they make that investment. There is no fee to join the system, and he expects that fees to operate and maintain MARCS could become a line item in the state budget once more systems are tied together.
Rick Jackson, 90.3.
